1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to oral hygiene and in particular to compositions, methods and devices for prevention of tooth decay and gum disease.
2. Description of Related Art
The human mouth is a sanctuary for harmful bacteria. Preventing the oral introduction is impractical. Though brushing several times throughout the day is recommended to remove food which provides a nutritional medium for bacteria, such diligence does little to protect the teeth when one is asleep and generally has little or no ability to kill bacteria which is harbored between the teeth and in the gums. The creation of plaque deposits results from the action of bacteria which in turn leads to gum disease.
In addition to toothpaste, various forms of bactericidal mouthwash are known in the art. The efficacy of such mouthwashes varies dramatically often with an inverse relationship between efficacy and acceptability to most users due to the taste and smell typical of strong bactericides. Such products are used by rinsing the mouth with the mouthwash during a day. It is known to rinse with mouthwash at night prior to retiring. However, such practice only destroys harmful bacteria at the time of use. Such protection typically lasts for only a few minutes. Thus, when a person is sleeping, the mouth, which is moist and warm, is left as an unprotected, ideal bacterial environment and is vulnerable to the damaging effects of harmful bacteria for several continuous hours. Moreover, the temporal duration of contact between the teeth and gums on one hand and the bactericidal mouthwash on the other is limited. To be effective, the bactericidal mouthwash must be very quick acting, which also tends to render it less acceptable for reasons of taste and smell. In addition, the more stringent the bactericidal mouthwash, the more likely that an adverse reaction will be experienced by a percentage of the users.
The invention is defined as a method for maintaining oral hygiene comprising the steps of providing an oral bactericide, disposing the oral bactericide on a user""s teeth and/or gums, leaving the oral bactericide on the teeth for an extended length of time, and killing bacteria on and between the user""s teeth and/or gums by means of the oral bactericide.
The step of providing an oral bactericide comprises the step of providing the oral bactericide as a paste, gel, liquid, or sprayed coating for application to the teeth and/or gums. The oral bactericide covers substantially all surfaces of the teeth. In general terms providing an oral bactericide comprises the step of applying a deformable solid carrier including the oral bactericide onto the teeth. In one embodiment the step of disposing the oral bactericide on a user""s teeth comprises encapsulating the teeth with a guard, mold or retainer, which may be flexible or rigid and sometimes custom molded to the user""s bite. In another embodiment the step of disposing the oral bactericide on a user""s teeth comprises the step of disposing the oral bactericide onto a tool and using the tool to force the oral bactericide onto and between the teeth.
The oral bactericide is left in intimate contact with the teeth and/or gums during the sleeping hours, or typically for more than one hour. It is expressly within the scope of the invention that even shorter times may be employed than one hour where the bactericide is efficacious to kill the bacteria present during such shorter intervals. However, intimate contact with the bactericide is substantially longer than would ever likely occur with any known mouthwash. The killing of the bacteria inside the user""s mouth by means of the oral bactericide maintains the oral bactericide in contact with the teeth and gums to inhibit the deposition of plaque.
The invention is also defined as an apparatus for maintaining oral hygiene comprising an oral bactericide, and a holder for the oral bactericide for disposing the oral bactericide on a user""s teeth. The holder retains the oral bactericide on the teeth for an extended length of time in order to kill bacteria on and between the user""s teeth and/or gums. Once again it is to be expressly understood that the holder for the oral bactericide may be a deformable solid moldable onto the user""s teeth, a sprayable coating disposed onto the user""s teeth, or a fixed and molded or flexible retainer disposable onto the user""s teeth.
Although the method has been described in terms of steps for the purpose of grammatical fluency, it is to expressly understood that the methodology included within the definition of the claims and invention is not to be limited by the construction assumed for steps in 35 USC 112, but is to be understood as including the full range of meaning of the defining words the claims and their equivalents. The invention, now having been briefly summarized, may be better visualized by turning to the following drawings wherein like elements are referenced by like numerals.